Travel Guide

The broad bay of Bang Saphan Yai is probably one of the more low-key beach destinations in Thailand. Regular visitors here relish the fact that it's a footnote in most guidebooks, and dread the day the tourist community at large gets wind of it. We kind of agree.

Bang Saphan Yai is a small town some 80 kilometres south of the provincial capital Prachuap Khiri Khan and 100 kilometres north of Chumphon. It has a decent stretch of beach, a waterfall, red cliffs and a cave temple worth visiting. It's also the jumping off point for visits to Ko Thalu, which has reasonable snorkelling and diving.

Bang Saphan is a seasonal destination and in off-season, some places close-up or run with a skeleton staff -- on a really quiet day it can feel like you're the only person on the entire beach. For some people, this is perfect, but others may find it almost too quiet -- especially in low season -- as you're fairly isolated from town. This is not a party zone.

The beach has a steeper drop off than Ban Krut to the north, so it does make for better swimming, but overall, we'd have to say Ban Krut's beach is nicer than here. Much of Bang Saphan has an active fishing boat industry and small fishing villages are dotted along the way; because of this there seems to be a bit more flotsam on the beach, especially to the north where the beach really isn't very nice at all.

Bang Saphan is actually two separate towns: Bang Saphan Yai is at the northern end of the bay and Bang Saphan Noi is about 15 kilometres or so to the south. Most resorts lie near the beach some halfway between the two towns off route 3374, and while there is accommodation on the northern stretch, we don't suggest staying there on account of beach being quite poor.

Travel advisory
The sleepy destinations in and around Bang Saphan Yai come to life during Songkran, Chinese New Year and other Thai holidays. Normally deserted beaches fill with hordes of people, prices for accommodation can jump, and rooms are booked far in advance. Keep an eye on the calendar before you show up here expecting peace, quiet and affordable rooms.

Orientation
Both Bang Saphan Noi and Bang Saphan Yai have a hospital, police station and ATMs. You'll also find more reasonably priced Thai restaurants and markets in both these towns than down at the beach.

Both have stations on the main north-south running railway, but more trains stop at Bang Saphan Yai than Bang Saphan Noi. Neither town is walking distance from the beach -- you'll need to use a motorbike taxi to get from the station to the beach.

Related reading

Text and/or map last updated on 22nd September, 2013.

Last reviewed by: Stuart McDonald
Stuart McDonald co-founded Travelfish.org with Samantha Brown in 2004. He has lived in Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, where he worked as an under-paid, under-skilled language teacher, an embassy staffer, a newspaper web-site developer and various other stuff. His favourite read is The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton and he spends most of his time in Bali, Indonesia.

Bang Saphan Yai reviews

Backchat from the Travelfish community

Bang Saphan Yai / Bank Krut resurveyed

A few days ago i did a slow motion trip down the coastline starting in Bangkok and stayed a while at Bang Saphan Yai's Suan Luang Beach.
Arriving at Bang Saphan Yai's Train Station I went by motorcycle taxi for the going rate of 80Baht to the beach of Suan Luang west of town where there is the main concentration of accommodation.
Down there you are right in the middle of the huge bay; with a rent-motorcycle it is very pleasant to explore the area. The going rate is about 200Baht a day.
Decent bicycles are impossible to find around.
I stayed at Lolas Bungalows; one of the rare budget places; usually accommodation is more "resort" style like as they are mainly catered towards Thai weekend holidaymakers.
The pleasant town of Bang Saphan Yai is about 6km away from Suan Luang Beach; people are friendly; there is a neat market; good food and even a great bakery/cafe called "SweetHouse".
Unfortunately the only guest house in town closed down recently due to lack of customers.
During the daytime there are very little people walking the beach; in the evening you may find the odd bar here and there but do not expect much going on here; you may even be alone with the barkeeper.
The beach is decent; wide and very well suited for people with kids as the water is quite shallow for about 50 meters out.
There is quite a bit of rubbish being washed up along the waterline but not to the amount becoming bothersome.
The whole bay is shaded by trees and so very enjoyable during the day.
Good food is available at a few restaurants along the beach all year round.
People who want to prepare their own food can buy fish directly from the small boats when they come back in the evening.
You can spend your days in a hammock or drive around the countryside exploring the caves and their temples or stay all day long at an empty stretch of beach which are plentiful.
The drive between Suan Luang Beach and Ban Krut is especially pleasant as one drives by small fishing families homes; coconut groves with the odd coconut-fetching monkey and kilometers of empty beautiful beach.
In between here and there is a resort-style hotel with prices usually between 1500 and 3000 Baht a night.
This will get you your own air-con bungalow and access to a swimming pool and adjacent restaurant.
The village of Ban Krut is a lot smaller and quieter than the busy town of Bang Saphan Yai; there is a lovely morning market; some local restaurants; an Internet place; a train station and much time to chat with the very welcoming locals.
The Beach might be prettier than Bang Saphan Yai's but the lack of trees makes it quite hot during the day.
Also at Ban Krut there is a small road dividing the resorts from the beach; but for those who want to avoid using a scooter Ban Krut is highly recommended.
Both places can get very busy during long weekends; holidays and special events.
There are plans to build a huge steel mill in Bang Saphan Yai for many years now but through the consistent effort of the locals to protect their environment so far nothing has been approved.
Quite a few westerners have built houses in the area so one can see many signs ''land for sale'' but the big rush has still to come; if it ever does....
So go and explore the area for a while; it makes a great stop in between Surat Thani and Bangkok if you are not in a hurry!

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I'll be back (or not)

By RotPickup (1)
Written on 4th June, 2010 after a visit to Bang Saphan Yai in June, 2010